IRONMAN Triathlon Race Wraps Up In Astana

Kazakhstan’s capital city Astana has played a host to the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon, welcoming roughly 1,300 athletes from 47 countries that swam, cycled and ran their way through the windswept northern steppe of the Caspian and Central Asia regions.

“In next years, we expect that the number of participants will increase up to two or three thousand,” said Aidyn Rakhimbayev, the Vice President of Kazakhstan Triathlon Federation, according to Tengrin News.

“Once we will recommend ourselves as a [reliable] venue, we will come out with a proposal to play a host to a full IRONMAN in Astana,” he added, referring to the extended version of the race known as IRONMAN 140.6.

The one-day competition began on Sunday morning with a 1.9 km swimming competition in the waters of the Ishim River, which was followed by a more than 90 km two-loop bike course that guided sportsmen through the modern architecture of the city. Participants passed by the Presidential Palace, House of Ministry and Kazakhstan’s parliament building, as spectators lined along the entire route. The third stage of the triathlon featured over 21 km of flat run consisting of three fast laps, hosted in Triathlon Park Astana.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is the first country in the Caspian region and among the Commonwealth of Independent Countries to host IRONMAN. This year’s race is devoted to the twentieth anniversary of Astana, and coincides with celebratory festivals featuring art, music and dance.

Sunday’s race provided for 50 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Cup, which will take place in South Africa later this year. One day before the main competition, children ranging in age, from eight and 15, joined IRON KIDS.

The first IRONMAN race was held on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in 1978. Twenty-five years after the word “Ironman” first tumbled from the lips of John Collins, one of the participants of the 1978 race, athletes are still drawn from more than 50 countries to the Hawaiian seaside village of Kailua-Kona each October to compete in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship.